Columbia Discussion thread

Feb 1, 2003

[Admin Moderator]

'

On behalf of posters on Free Republic, I post this with deepest sympathy for the crew and their families.

Mission - sts107

---

This is a continuation of the original thread.

Shuttle Contact LOST-No Tracking Data During RE-Entry!

ANY DU LINKS OR POSTS WILL BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY. Keep them on the original thread.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Been there, conservababe... been there...

[McGruff]

Break-up appears to have started with left wing
Telemetry received during the final minutes of shuttle Columbia's doomed reentry indicates the orbiter's break-up began with the left wing, NASA officials said. A series of sensors in the wing area failed and there were also indications of overheating before contact with the orbit was lost.

[mewzilla]

And what's with the astronauts not knowing about those sensor malfunctions until that idiot light, or whatever it was, went off? They don't need to know?? Why not leave that up to the pilot's discretion? Frankly if the folks in the cockpit had known about those other sensors failing (or whatever it was they did), maybe there was something they could have noted or looked for. This kind of attitiude, they don't need to know it, kind of reminds me about the attitude NASA had to its early astronauts, when they didn't consider them pilots at all.

[Dog]

There wasn't a whole lot the astronauts could have done during reentry....... worse time to have a malfunction.

[HairOfTheDog]

Wow.... I am really impressed with these guys and I come here and hear them being raked over just like every other person fool enough to put themselves up for FReeper dissection.

Those pilots have a hundred sets of eyes monitoring all of these sensors and measurements for them. Just how much information you want to flood the pilots with? There is only so much information they can accurately process. That is why they have so many others watching.

[Dr. Zoo]

On TV a few minutes ago, the NASA spokesman said they asked the crew to film the wing damage.

He also said he was anxious for them to return so they could review the filming.

I believe eveything done is digitally transmitted to control center from space.

They are not going to tell us everything now, but will let out what they want us to hear. Of course in any investigation, they need to play some of the important cards close to their chest.

[Arkinsaw]

On TV a few minutes ago, the NASA spokesman said they asked the crew to film the wing damage

No they asked them to take pictures of the external fuel tank as it dropped away so they could see exactly where the foam fell off. They said they had no capability to look at the underside of the shuttle.

[Timesink]

Were does this fit in, historicaly, as to national shocks over the last 62 years? 1) Attack on Pearl Harbor 2) 9/11 3) JFK assasinated 4) Reagan shot 5) Challenger 6) Columbia

Columbia is definitely at the bottom of that list. The world simply hasn't stopped today like it has with other national shocks, including Challenger. Most of the mailing lists I subscribe to continue to receive posts as if today's disaster did not occur at all; the people in the Best Buy I was in this morning when the news broke just said, "Oh, that's bad," and went on about their shopping.

[CyberAnt]

But ... in one of the close-up films the shuttle appears to be going sideways instead of nose up at a " \ " slanted angle to keep the shuttle from burning up.

[Dr. Zoo]

Oh thanks you are correct.

[mewzilla]

With NASA's track record, and considering the fact that after the Challenger disaster NASA's behavior was far from exemplary, I'd trust the pilots to decide for themselves what they'd want to know. That attitude, that they didn't need to know, frosted me since how can NASA know that without knowing the cause of what's happened.

[steveegg]

I hear you. Even if the pilot and commander had known about the first failure of sensors the second they failed, there is pretty much nothing they could have done. Once they're slicing through the atmosphere, they have but 4 choices: drop the nose, descend faster and heat things up;, turn left or turn right and increase G-forces and temperatures (though not as much as dropping the nose) while dumping speed; or shallowing the dive and overshoot the landing (which in this case would have put them in the Atlantic because I don't think they could have made it to Europe).

[88keys]

"Well, I guess as a medical professional, I do not understand unrestrained emotions under pressure or grief...except in private, if it involves your profession"

I agree with Ark's post 917 since I don't think the NASA people were "unrestrained", under the circumstances. They provided all the detailed information they could, and clearly know what they're talking about (if in doubt, check their resumes)...perhaps one can take the "ideal of professional conduct" too far...IMHO, for the situation (press conference) they were in, it would be pretty chilling if they didn't show any emotion whatsoever...

They were stoic enough for me, considering what a tragic thing this is for so many people...all in different ways, but tragic to many, nevertheless.

Freegards on a very sad day

[Timesink]

Let's just become robots! How much easier that would be! These people just watched seven friends die and a priceless asset to their life's work ripped to millions of pieces...and you want them to be Spock.

Actually, the only study ever done on the latter-day "bus in the grief counselors" post-disaster attitude showed that all the counseling ended up making the affected people feel WORSE, and to suffer LONGER. It's liberal claptrap. The people that truly need counseling will seek it out; the rest only end up hurting more by being forced to "talk about their feelings" over and over.

[The South Park Republican]

This is a perfect example of what makes America GREAT!

Let's see one of these Muslim countries that has a woman who looks like this in such a heroic and leadership role.

Screw anyone who doesn't love America! God Bless these WORLD-WIDE heros!!

[HairOfTheDog]

I think NASA's track record is excellent, so I am not in your headspace. This is their life, their passion, and their tragedy. They are answering, off the cuff, what they know, and what they think. Not rehearsed, not scripted, but real and imperfect, like everything created by people is.

[CyberAnt]

Sorry ... not a producer's blunder - most feed is taken directly from the machines, and handed to the TV guy - IT IS HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO PERUSE IT BEFORE READING IT.

Shep was right to apologize and I applaud him for being so upfront about it.

[exhaustedmomma]

FYI: Remembrance services around Houston

We just returned from Johnson Space Center. We put a God Bless American sign up along with 6 American flags and an Israeli flag. My husband was interviewed by USA Today. It was a touching, moving, and sombering experience.

[steveegg]

Considering that there was abnormal heating and various failures of temperature sensors on the left wing well before contact was lost, and up until the loss of contact, there was no indication of an abnormal descent in the ballistic sense, it is probable that the sideways shuttle was a result of either a failure of the control surfaces or of the wing (I haven't seen that particular tape, so I don't know if the wing was still substantially intact at that point).